Fountain toothbrush



June 23, 1953 T. 'r. ASCHENBACH ,6

FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Filed April 9,1948

THEODORA THERES A ASCHENBACH Patented June 23, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE;

FOUNTAIN TOOTHBRUSH Theodora Theresa. Aschenbach, Washington, D.- G.Application Apri l 9, 1948, Serial No. 20,048

My invention relates to a fountain toothbrush, and it is an object ofthe same to provide a brush designed for such use with a supply oftoothpaste or the like carried by the brush and so located that it canbe fed to the bristles of the brush in desired amount and in convenientand expeditious manner.

Another object of the invention is to locate a supply of toothpaste inthe handle of the brush, which handle is preferably of cylindrical shapeand of such size as toafford a firm grip for the user.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel replaceable orrenewable containers for toothpaste, whereby the supply of material maybe renewed at will.

Still another object is to provide such renewable containers orcartridges with feed plugs that are formed to cooperate with the handlefor maintaining themselves in their farthest advanced position in thedevice, and which render their containers non-refillable, but withoutdanger of wasting or unduly exposing the material that remains unused atany stage of the procedure.

Referring to the annexed drawings, which are made a part of thisapplication and in which similar reference characters indicatesimilarparts:

Fig. l, is a side view of the device,

Fig. 2, a similar view with parts in diiferent position from that ofFig. 1.

Fig. 3, a central longitudinal section,

Fig. 4, a perspective of a modified container for toothpaste or thelike,

Fig. 5, a section on line --5 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 6, a section on line 6-8 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 7, a perspective of a feed plug for the cartridge.

In the drawings, reference character indicates the handle of atoothbrush, the same being hollow and merging into a hollow neck portionll of reduced diameter which is closed at its forward end. The handlehas relatively wide longitudinal slots l2 at opposite sides, which slotshave circumferential notches I3 opening out of the same in a clockwisedirection as seen when the brush is viewed from its rear or handle end.

The neck portion H is provided near its forward end with holes M foregress of material to bristles I5 that are preferably so positioned asto extend outward from the neck, as shown best in Fig. 6. The shell thatforms the handle and neck may be constructed of any suitable material,but preferably it is made of rigid plastic material or of metal such asis ornamental and non-corrosive 4 Claims. (01. 15-137) and so issuitable for toilet articles. the shell should be rigid and durable,ornamental. the brush manner.

A container for toothpaste has a body portion indicated at It, saidcontainer fitting loosely in the shell Ill and being preferably made ofmaterial sufficiently strong tohold the contents safely, such as paper,thin plastic material, glassine, tinfoil or other readily scissilematerial. At its larger end th container is closed by a plug 11 thatfits closely in the tube It and has oppositely projecting handles l8 bymeans of which the plug can be pushed along the shell to force thecontainer material out through the openings 1 4.

At the forward side of each of the handles I8, [8 there is provided acutting member 19. The cutting members may be formed as an integral barextending through the plug and with a keen front edge located. so as toengage the walls of the container and sever the same as the plug ispushed forwardly. In case the material of the Essentially as well as Thebristles may be mounted on in any desirable or conventional container issufiiciently resistant to cutting. ac-

tion to cause difiiculty, the. container may be provided at oppositesides with score lines 20' and such scorelines will be formed. in linewith slits. 20 that are formed. at opposite-sides of the large end ofthe containe -and which are preferably .shapedso that a handle l8anditsqblade l9. fit

therein as the container is placed on sale.

It is intended that in a preferred form of'the invention the containershall be placed on sale as illustrated in Fig. 4, the outer shell beingof course discarded after use and the plug being made of such cheapmaterial that it will also be discarded, although it is obviouslypossible to 1 transfer the plug from one container to another if thatshould be considered desirable. In such case the large end of thecontainer could be closed by a bodily removable temporary plug or by areadily frangible plug that could be removed when the regular one is tobe inserted and the container placed in the shell III.

In order to hold the plug in place, as during transportation, as well asto indicate the amount to be ejected for one use, the shell is providedat one side of each slot It with notches l3 to receive the handleportions [8 with their blade sections l9, as shown in Fig. 2, for whichpurpose the container is made readily rotatable in the shell 10.Obviously the notches [3 may be variously spaced in accordance withpreference or desired utility.

The container is reduced at its forward end to .sides thereof, said bodybeing u 3 forma neck portion 2| adapted to enter the neck H of the brushand this neck may be closed at its open end by any desirable orconventional closure. One form of such a closure consists of a small cap22, shown in Fig. 4, which may consist of elastic material for securitybut may also be made of other materials. Another form is indicated at 23in Fig. 3, and consists of a small plug in the opening, either a wad ofmaterial that can be pried out or a plug of frangible material that canbe broken.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many changes may bemade in the device herein disclosed, in such details as shape of parts,materials used, etc., all without departing from the spirit of theinvention; e. g., the handles It may have their front edges sharp enoughto disrupt the walls of the containers if the material of a container isreadily disruptable; and therefore I do not limit myself to what isshown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only asindicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully 1 claim is:

1. A fountain toothbrush having a hollow cylindrical body withlongitudinal slots in opposite closed at its front for toothpaste ordescribed my invention, what end, a cylindrical container the likemounted in said body for oscillatory movement with respect to the body,bristles at the forward end of the body, a passage leading through saidbody and opening out among said bristles, means for forcing materialfrom said container through said passage, said means comprising a pluslidably mounted in said container, handles on the plug extendingthrough the longitudinal slots in said body for actuating the plug,

spaced notches extending laterally from the longitudinal slots toreceive said handles in different positions of the plug, and cuttingedges movable with the handles in the feeding movement ofv the plug forsplitting the container.

2. YA fountaintoothbrush comprising a hollow elongated shell open at itsrear end and closed at its front end, bristles arranged at its frontend, ports extending out of its hollow interior and opening among saidbristles, said shell having longitudinal 'slots at opposite "sides withnotches extending laterally therefrom, a: con- 4 tainer mounted foroscillatory movement in said shell, said container having thin fragilewalls, a passage leading from said container to said ports, a plugclosing the rear end of the container, handles on the plug, movablelengthwise of the shell in one of said slots, and cutting edges movablewith said handles to sever the container as the handles are moved alongthe shell, said handles being adapted to enter said notches as thecontainer is oscillated with respect to the shell.

3. In a fountain toothbrush, a hollow elongated body, a containercoaxial with the body and rotatable therein, a feed plug fitting in therear end of the container and slidable therein, the hollow body having aslot extending lengthwise thereof with notches extending laterally fromthe slot, a radial projection on the plug movable along said slot andadapted toengage in one of said notches upon rotary movement of thecontainer, and a cutting edge movable with the projection to sever thecontainer upon movement of the plug lengthwise of the toothbrush.

4. In a, fountain toothbrush, a hollow elongated body, a containercoaxial with the body and rotatable therein, a feed plug fitting in therear and slidable therein, the

end of the container hollow body having a longitudinal slot with notchesopening laterally of the slot, a lateral projection on the plug movablealong said slot and adapted to engage in any one of said notches, and acutting edge at the front of said projection arranged to sever thecontainer as the feed plu is advanced.

THEODORA THERESA ASCHE'NBACH.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date I 767,469 Ziegler Aug. 16, 1904 809,419 j Belcher' Jan. 9,1905 [851,587 Clark Apr. 23, 1907 1,494,736 cottrell i May 20, 19241,742,157 Christian Dec. 31, 1929 1,945,938 Hemp hill Feb. 6, 19342,250,758 French July 29, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date eachhandle being Germany Apr. 23, 1907

